Chapter 313 - 309: Encountering Zhao Liqing Again
Chapter 313: Chapter 309: Encountering Zhao Liqing Again
"Hey, Ye Guozhong, watch your mouth! What’s this about ’you can fool your mom, but you can’t fool your old man’? You say that as if you’re so clever." His mother, Lin Yufang, was suddenly furious. "Let me tell you, Ye Guozhong, we can let his second aunt handle Axing’s matchmaking, but absolutely not his third uncle. You know exactly what Third Brother and his family are like. Asking him to find a match for our Axing is just asking for trouble. In the end, nothing will get done, and we’ll just have to put up with their ridicule!"
"Yu Fang, you’re being prejudiced," his father, Ye Guozhong, said quickly. "I admit, Third Brother’s family is a bit arrogant, but we’re still family. I’m sure he’ll take finding a match for Axing seriously. Guomin works in the city government, after all. The people he associates with are all influential, and he has a wide network!"
"A wide network doesn’t mean he’ll help Axing. His family has always looked down on us..."
Watching his mom and dad start to argue again, Ye Xing felt a headache coming on. He quickly sped up, finished his meal in a flash, and then went out for a walk.
The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, also known as New Year’s Eve, is a traditional festival for the Han people. It marks the very last day of the year (the 30th, or 29th in a shorter lunar month). It’s a time for many ancient folk customs, like making dumplings, having a reunion dinner, burning joss paper, setting off firecrackers, watching the Spring Festival Gala, and staying up late to welcome the new year.
This major festival was, without a doubt, incredibly lively. The streets were filled with countless people, all dressed in new clothes and beaming with festive cheer.
The sound of firecrackers was everywhere. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—fireworks bloomed one after another in the night sky, stunningly beautiful.
Ice Sea New City was a coastal district surrounded by a boundless sea with magnificent waves. It boasted a yacht marina, a musical fountain, an ocean park, and many other attractions that drew tourists from all over.
The night breeze was cool. As he walked along the streets of Ice Sea, Ye Xing headed toward the musical fountain.
The musical fountain wasn’t usually active; it was generally only turned on for festivals. Accompanied by beautiful music, jets of water shot toward the sky, reflecting a kaleidoscope of colorful lights and creating a dreamlike, breathtaking spectacle.
"Senior Ye Xing!"
A delighted female voice, clear and serene, suddenly called out from behind him.
The voice sounded familiar, so Ye Xing turned to look.
He saw an elegant white electric scooter made for women heading his way. Riding it was a woman around twenty years old, wearing white-framed glasses. As she rode, her smooth, jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, giving her a quiet and graceful air.
"What a coincidence, Junior Liqing!" Ye Xing said with a small smile.
The person was none other than Zhao Liqing, the girl from his previous blind date. They were both from the same school, Fushan University.
"Senior Ye Xing, where are you headed?" Zhao Liqing asked.
"Nowhere in particular. Just taking a walk. I was going to check out the musical fountain," Ye Xing said with a smile.
"The musical fountain? That’s a bit of a walk from here." Zhao Liqing’s eyes sparkled. "Senior Ye Xing, how about I give you a ride?"
"It’s okay, I’ll just walk," Ye Xing said.
"Senior Ye Xing, are you just being polite with me?" Zhao Liqing pouted. "You helped me get a job, and I still haven’t been able to properly thank you. Hop on! Let your junior give you a ride. It’s... a small token of my appreciation!"
With that, Zhao Liqing pulled the scooter up in front of Ye Xing and waited for him to get on.
Ye Xing sighed and rolled his eyes. Unable to refuse her persistence, he climbed onto the back of Zhao Liqing’s scooter, sitting behind her.
"Hold on tight, Senior! Here I go!"
"Got it. Though at your snail’s pace, do I really need to?"
"Hee hee!" Zhao Liqing playfully stuck out her tongue. She rode very steadily; an electric scooter only goes so fast to begin with, and with a girl at the helm, it was even more "steady."
"Oh, by the way, Senior Ye Xing, where have you been? I haven’t seen you around at all. The boss and everyone have been looking for you."
"I was away on a business trip, out of Luoxian County," Ye Xing said. "How about you? How have things been?"
"I’m doing great! Thanks to your help, Senior Ye Xing, I’m a manager at Jinsheng Hotel now!" Zhao Liqing said gratefully.
"Haha, all I did was make an introduction. Your success is the result of your own hard work."
"No, that’s not it. I can tell Boss Huang only promoted me out of respect for you, Senior Ye Xing," Zhao Liqing said, her gaze serious. "There’s no way I could have become a manager in such a short time otherwise. Jinsheng Hotel is a five-star hotel; the internal competition is fierce!"
As Jinsheng Hotel was a prestigious five-star hotel in Luoxian County, a manager’s position definitely came with a significant raise in salary and benefits.
"Okay, okay. I know Old Huang gave you a boost, but your own hard work was indispensable. You’re a top student from the Financial Management department at Fushan University. With your drive, becoming a manager was just a matter of time," Ye Xing said. "I still remember the first time we met, Junior Liqing. Tsk, tsk. You were so intense when you were reading your book..."
Zhao Liqing’s face immediately flushed. When she started reading, she had a habit of getting completely absorbed. On their blind date, Ye Xing had ended up waiting at the table for a full twenty minutes for her.
The night breeze was cool, and strands of her dark hair fluttered back, carrying a faint, pleasant scent.
After riding for five or six minutes, they finally arrived at the musical fountain.
The musical fountain was on a large platform by the sea. Jets of water shot into the air from various directions, converging and intertwining.
Dynamic music pulsed through the air, and a dazzling, multicolored glow filled one’s vision.
Since it was New Year’s Eve, the area around the musical fountain was crowded, mostly with young couples holding hands as they enjoyed the show.
Watching all the canoodling couples, Ye Xing was undoubtedly being force-fed a massive dose of public affection. The feeling was a special kind of torture.
"All these... damn... couples," Ye Xing muttered. "I refuse to be subjected to all this PDA!"
"Pfft!" Zhao Liqing covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Senior Ye Xing, don’t you have a girlfriend? Why should you care about other people’s PDA?"
"I—" Ye Xing rolled his eyes. "She’s not with me right now, is she!"
"You two seem to have been dating for a while. Didn’t she come home with you for the New Year?" Zhao Liqing asked softly, her gaze complicated.
"Yeah, she had something she couldn’t get away from. I’m going to go find her after the New Year." Ye Xing sighed, an infinite longing welling up in his heart. "Sigh... I wonder how Mengxue is doing."
Ye Xing had also managed to gather some information about Celestial Snow Mountain on the Martial Arts Continent. The Celestial Snow Mountain Cold Moon Palace was one of the Martial Arts world’s Six Great Holy Lands, a terrifyingly powerful force. It was one of the very few sects at the absolute apex of the Central Plains Martial Arts world. The Palace Master of Cold Moon Palace, Lady Youyue, was known to be exceptionally harsh and severe. From the rumors Ye Xing had heard, she was basically a carbon copy of the infamous Master Extinction. Even though Mengxue was a Core Disciple of Cold Moon Palace, Ye Xing was still incredibly worried.
Before, his strength had been too low. The Central Plains were filled with countless Martial Artists and Demon Beasts that could have ended his life, so he’d had no choice but to endure and bide his time. But now, Ye Xing had broken through to the Innate Realm and was even ranked on the Martial Arts’ Dragon and Phoenix List. This gave him a measure of confidence. He was just waiting for the New Year to be over. Then, he would definitely set out for the Central Plains Martial Arts world.